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A little-known BSE-listed company HOV Services is set for a killing as the next billion dollar acquisition in business process outsourcing kicks off. SourceHOV, jointly owned by Citigroup Venture Capital International and HOV Services, has appointed investment bank Morgan Stanley for a sale. SourceHOV, with a large India back office story, has an asking valuation of $1.2 billion, said people directly aware of the matter. Low-profile tech entrepreneur Parvinder Chadha-controlled HOV Services, which owns a 27.2% stake in the BPO firm, has a market capitalization of just Rs 40 crore, or about $7 million. Its stake in SourceHOV, which also carries half of the boardroom voting rights, could be valued at about $300 million. CVCI owns 65% with operational and financial control of the privately held SourceHOV employing 13,000 staff spread across India, Philippines, China and Mexico. (Times of India)

Apollo Hospitals’ Prathap Reddy plans to raise Rs 550 crore from KKR: Prathap C Reddy, who owns the Apollo chain of hospitals, would raise Rs 550 crore ($90 million) from American private equity fund Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (KKR) to repay promoters’ debt and build more hospitals, a person privy to the deal said. The PE fund will subscribe to the convertible debentures issued by Prathap Reddy’s holding company PCR Investments with an option to convert these debentures into equity shares of listed Apollo Hospitals at the end of five years. The promoters also will have the right to buy back these instruments at the end of two years. KKR, which is investing through its alternative investment platform, may end up owning between 4% and 5% in the hospital chain if it converts these instruments to equity shares. (Times of India)

IIFCL eyes 2nd extension for $5 billion line of credit on project delays: India Infrastructure Finance Co has said its British arm, which had already sought a two-year extension for its $5-billion line of credit from RBI, is planning to seek nod for one year more on account of higher loan commitments from power sector clients and others. IIFCL England’s current $5-billion line of credit will expire on March 31, 2014. The company would write a fresh letter as the original approach to the RBI was till March 2016. IIFCL England has mostly been funding the thermal power sector. (Economic Times)

Omaxe promoter’s plans to sell shares worth Rs 150 cr to meet Sebi norm: Realty firm Omaxe’s promoters would sell over 1.1 crore shares, worth about Rs 150 crore ($24.5 million), through stock exchange on October 29 to meet market regulator SEBI’s norms on minimum public shareholding. Promoter group’s three companies Constellation Capital Ltd, Kautilya Monetary Services Pvt Ltd and SA Finvest Ltd. have offered to sell together 1,10,20,000 shares through OFS on BSE platform. The offer represents 6.35% of the total paid up share capital of the company as on date. Currently, the promoters have 81.35% stake in Omaxe. (Economic Times)

Ahluwalia Contracts plans to raise funds through right issue: Ahluwalia Contracts India Ltd. is planning to raise Rs 50 crore ($8.17 million) through rights issue. The board also gave approval for the proposed fundraising. The company would issue equity shares of the face value of Rs 2/- each, to the existing equity shareholders of the company. (BSE)

Diageo sets the ball rolling to restructure finances of United Spirits: Diageo, the global spirits major which recently has picked up strategic management control of Vijay Mallya’s United Spirits, is rolling up its sleeves and is kicking off a comprehensive move to restructure the leveraged balance sheet of United Spirits. United Spirits is under a debt of close to Rs 7,000 crore ($1.14 billion) with a gearing of 1.5 times and Diageo is understood to be looking at refinancing as much as close to Rs 3,500 crore ($572 million) of that. The company had primarily got into the vicious cycle of debt when it went and acquired Scotland-based scotch whisky major Whyte & Mackay for as much as $1.2 billion in a highly leveraged transaction during 2007. (Business Standard)